liars & lesions
by twisted-fantasies
Summary: She knew that things would change around Long Island during her absence, but she never expected to return to a dangerous game at play where she was the prize and the stakes were higher than she could even fathom. AU


Muttontown, New York  
October 5, 2012

Natasha Romanoff was unusually quiet as she looked out of the window and watched the rain pour over Long Island. The raindrops clouded her view from inside the taxi, but her heart still warmed at the familiar sights that passed by. Nassau County was beautiful and it was home. She was ecstatic to be back home after two years away.

From what she could see, nothing much had changed. A few storefronts were unfamiliar and some buildings seemed to have been renovated, but there was nothing that particularly stood out to her as strange. That relieved her, knowing that her home was still her home.

"Would you like me to drop you off in front of the gate or will it be already be opened?" The taxi driver asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Natasha rubbed her chin with her index finger and thumb as she pondered a response. "Front of the gate is fine. The rain seems to be clearing up so it shouldn't be much of a problem."

The taxi driver nodded as he neared a sprawling estate hidden behind an array of dark trees.

Her lips curled into a smile as she caught sight of the familiar home that she had felt welcome in for several years of her life. The car rolled to a stop and Natasha slipped out of the taxi, quickly paying the driver before taking in the magnificent sight in front of her. The remnants of the rain stuck her dress to her body as she rang the doorbell on the massive gate.

"Ms. Romanoff, what a pleasure!" Wolfgang von Strucker said over the intercom. "Welcome back to New York."

"Thank you, Mr. von Strucker. I'm very happy to be back," Natasha said, as the gate parted in front of her.

She slowly walked towards the front door of the mansion when it swung open and a loud squeal filled the air.

"Natasha!" Wanda Maximoff's eyes widened at the sight of her old friend. "You're here!" She motioned for her to pick up the pace. "Finally!"

Natasha chuckled as she walked faster towards her. "I missed you, Wanda!"

"I've missed you more. It's been two whole years," Wanda said, as she pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't ever leave again, you bitch."

Natasha raised an eyebrow and responded sarcastically, "So sorry that I wanted to further my education at a fine institute in England and then get some work experience, as well. Next time I'll just stay here." She relaxed in her best friend's embrace.

Wanda rolled her eyes as she led her into the house and shut the door behind them. "Oh, you know what I mean, Nat. We all missed you while you were gone."

Natasha's smile widened as she looked around the massive interior. "I know, I know. I missed you all too." She crossed her arms. "Where's Pietro?"

"Who even knows." Wanda shrugged. "Work, I'm guessing."

"Busy guy."

"Don't you know it."

"Ms. Romanoff, it's great to see you," von Strucker said from the top of the staircase.

Natasha turned and looked up at him. "And you, as well."

Von Strucker gestured towards the hallway. "Your belongings arrived yesterday morning and have been placed in your room already. May I help you with that suitcase you have with you?"

"Thank you," Natashia replied. "I can handle this one, though."

Von Strucker nodded. "Well, I have other matters to attend to. I shall see you ladies later."

Wanda and Natasha bid him farewell as he disappeared into a different wing in the mansion.

"Where's Vision?" Natasha asked. She grabbed onto the top handle of her suitcase and slowly made her way up the grand staircase.

Wanda smiled at the mention of her boyfriend. "He's with Clint and Maria. They'll be here in like ten minutes. They're really excited to see you. Clint hasn't shut up about it at all."

"Oh, I bet." Natasha laughed.

Wanda smirked. "Well, I mean, you didn't visit at all after sophomore year when you were across the pond, so that's on you."

"I graduated with at the top of my class with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. Oxford is hard enough to get into. Acing the coursework is a whole other obstacle," Natasha said with a chuckle. "I was busy."

"Of course," Wanda said, exasperatedly. "You're a genius, Nat. We get it."

They turned into a massive hallway. Natasha dragged the suitcase behind her. "Maybe I am, but I'm still working at the same place as you and Clint and Vision and Maria. We're in the same boat."

"Stark Industries, one hell of a boat in that case."

"Can you believe Tony fucking Stark is really the CEO of that whole empire? He's only 24," Natasha said in disbelief. "The Tony Stark I knew back at Andover was childish and immature and-"

"Incredibly intelligent," Wanda interrupted him. "He may have had an... interesting personality, but he was probably the smartest person to go to Andover. I mean, he did graduate early from MIT in literally two years."

Natasha scoffed with a small smile peeking on her face. "Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist. Quite the resume for him." She pushed open the door to the guest bedroom that she had occupied and immediately laid down on the bed.

"He's not that bad," Wanda said, truthfully. "He flirts entirely too much, but some of us think he has a thing for Pepper Potts going on." She stared at her reflection in the mirror and played with her hair.

Natasha fake gasped. "Scandalous!"

Wanda sat on the edge of the bed frame. "Well, he was probably influenced by Thor and Jane."

"They're still going strong?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. "They started dating since, like, the beginning of Andover."

"Mhmm," Wanda replied. "I don't think they've broken up ever. Not even for a day."

Natasha was impressed. "Wow. Well, at least one person from Steve Rogers's old posse seems to be a decent guy, then."

Wanda chuckled. "Steve Rogers. Haven't heard too much about him in a while."

"Really? It's not like he wasn't the most popular person back at boarding school."

Natasha and Wanda had spent four years of high school at Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts. They had graduated with the Class of 2008 and went off on their separate ways. Natasha matriculated into the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and Wanda stayed home in New York to attend New York University. Clint, Vision, and Maria had also chosen to stay home in New York after graduating from Andover. Clint and Maria matriculated into Columbia University and Vision attended New York University.

Steve Rogers, along with his closest friends: Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes, Thor Odinson, Sam Wilson, Daniel Sousa, and Matt Murdock graduated from Andover with the Class of 2006. Although Natasha was an underclassman when Steve and his friends were at Andover, she had heard plenty about them to know that they were at the top of the social ladder.

Wanda shrugged. "Well, Tony has sort of replaced him as the most talked-about guy of the group. I haven't seen Steve in a while, but he's a bit more laid-back now."

"Never would have seen that coming. He was kind of scary back in school." Natasha snorted in amusement. "What's he doing now? He's back from Harvard, right?"

Wanda bit her lip for a quick second. "Uh. Last time I saw him was at Tony's big company New Year's Party. He's still in New York, but he primarily stays in Manhattan. I haven't seen at a car at his estate in a long time. But he's actually taken over Rogers Consolidated."

Natasha sat up with an incredulous expression on her face. "He runs the Rogers Empire now?"

"Mhmm. CEO," Wanda said. "He took over when he came back from Boston."

"Impressive," Natasha said. "Stark Industries is one hell of a boat, but Rogers Consolidated is one massive cruise ship, in that sense."

Wanda laughed, as she ran a hand through her wavy locks of hair. "That's true."

Natasha opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"That must be them." Wanda grabbed Natasha's hand and they ran down the stairs to see Clint, Maria, and Vision on the porch.

* * *

Manhattan, New York

"Extravagant. That's the main theme you need to follow. Do what you must, but remember that this is Old Westbury and we have to do it the Long Island Way, not the Manhattan way," Tony Stark instructed, as he lazily leaned back in his leather office chair.

"What does that even mean?" Steve Rogers scoffed, looking up from his tablet.

Tony looked over his shoulder. "Jarvis, you understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

"Classy, not flashy, I'm presuming, sir?"

"Exactly. It's nice to know that someone understands. Well, you can go off now. Rogers and I still have important business to discuss other than Rhodey's surprise party," Tony said.

Steve fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Where's Bucky?"

"Probably off with Darcy," Tony responded, without a care in the world. "You know how they are."

"They don't even like each other." Steve's nose wrinkled as he pictured the two.

Tony shrugged. "They're doing a fine job for their parents. That's what matters most."

Steve huffed, as he looked back down at his tablet. "Their parents are fools if they think that they'll actually end up married or whatever."

"It's not like either of them have any better people to be with. You know that Bucky doesn't like sloppy seconds and Darcy, well, she's Darcy."

"She's in love with Clint Barton, actually," Steve muttered, but it was loud enough for Tony to hear.

Tony's eyes widened. "What?!" He stood up and ambled towards the blond. "Barton? As in... Barton?"

"The one and only," Steve retorted, as he set the tablet onto the marble table.

"How the hell do you know that? Are you fucking with me right now?"

Steve shook his head. "Nah. I actually just overheard the two of them talking at her birthday party last year. Who knows if she's still in love with him now, but she sure was back then. She was pissed that her parents stole their chance together."

Tony whistled, leaning on the edge of the table with his hands in his pockets. "Well, well, well. Who would have thought that our little Princess Darcy would be fraternizing with... Barton?"

"Barton's family is wealthy, though. Edith built up quite a fortune," Steve pointed out. "Top ten at Andover."

"Just because he's wealthy doesn't mean shit. You and I know that damn well."

"Barton is a fool, I will admit, but he'll be on our side soon enough."

"Right," Tony scoffed. "He'll join us the day that I lose all my knowle-"

"Lose all your sanity? That'll probably happen soon, Stark," a voice said, humorously from the door.

Tony turned around. "Well, finally, Barnes! Done canoodling with the future Mrs.?"

Bucky narrowed his eyes at him. "Shut up."

"When should we expect your nuptials? I want to make sure that I find the perfect wedding gift. You know me, a perfectionist," Tony said, teasingly.

"I'm sure Pepper will forgive me if I throw you off the balcony." Bucky sat down across from Steve after shooting Tony a glare.

"Probably," Tony said, as he took a seat at the table. "Never mind that. So, gentlemen, what's on the agenda today?"

"Hydra," Steve drawled, "has been building up a new operation. My theory is that they're trying to infiltrate our weapons trade in the East Coast."

Bucky snorted. "Rumlow has some balls if that's what he's trying."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Hydra took a blow when Zemo lost control over the illegal gambling ring in New Jersey. At least two dozen of them got thrown into prison."

"That's Zemo. Zemo was never that much of a threat, in my opinion. It's Rumlow that we need to watch out for. Rumlow worked for Hive before they fell apart. He has a more broad vision of what he wants Hydra to accomplish and I know that he's capable of getting them there," Steve said, dismissively. "This isn't about petty organized crime shit. Rumlow wants to ruin the world."

"He's not like... fucking al Queda," Bucky said, "You make it sound like he-"

"He'll do it," Steve interrupted, "You know he'll do it. Taking control of the weapons trade would catch the eye of the Russians and-"

Tony hooted. "Are we seriously discussing the Red Room working with Hydra?" He c=pondered that thought and made a hissing noise. "Well, Madame B. does hate us. She hates Shield, as a whole."

"Rightfully so. Steve, you did murder Yelena Belova," Bucky said.

Steve clasped his hands together. "I did what I had to do, but we're not here to dwell on the past. We need to think about what's to come and what we're going to do. Sam, Matt, Thor, and Daniel are gonna be back from D.C. soon so we need to have some ideas ready for them."

Tony spoke up, "You know, why don't we just get your cousin to help us with this? He's pretty knowledgeable in-"

"Hell no," Steve snapped, shaking his head. "I'm not dealing with Banner again. He's said no too many times. I don't need him anymore."

"Banner's a genius, Steve," Bucky reminded him.

"I don't care," Steve said. "We can do this without him."

Tony opened his mouth to say something when Jarvis walked into the room. "Mr. Stark, there is a guest in the lobby asking for Mr. Rogers. Her name is Lorraine-"

Steve's eyes darkened as he let out a groan. "Tell her I'm not here." His mood worsened from the mention of his "girlfriend" who he had been playing for the past couple months.

Jarvis raised an eyebrow. "Very well." He turned around and exited the room again.

Bucky scrunched his eyebrows. "Why are you still dating her? You got what you needed from her."

"Oh, trust me. I've been meaning to end that relationship, but she's annoying to talk to. I'll get to it, eventually," Steve answered. "I need to get to Sharon."

Tony smirked as he rested his head behind his outstretched hands. "Sharon Carter. You really have balls, Rogers. Peggy's gonna go bat shit when it happens."

Bucky said. "It won't slip past her easily when she finds out her little sister is dating her ex-boyfriend."

"Dating is a strong word. I'd call it toying," Steve said.

"You'll be playing a dangerous game, Steve. The Carter family is really something else and your father knew that." Tony tapped his fingers along the edge of the table.

Steve pursed his lips tightly for a moment, before speaking. "My father was an idiot. I won't be like him. He almost ruined Rogers Consolidated."

"He almost took Carter Enterprises down with him. We're not gonna let that happen again, despite how much you hate Peggy now," Tony said.

Steve looked disgusted. "As she deserves." Memories of his former friend and former girlfriend Peggy Carter had been blocked from his mind and he had no intention to undo that.

The sound of Tony's beeping snapped him out of his thoughts.

Tony reached into his pocket and looked at the screen. He sighed and yelled out, "Jarvis!"

Jarvis quickly made his way back into the office. "Yes, sir?"

"Add Natasha Romanoff to the guest list."

"Yes, sir."

Tony waved his hand dismissively and turned back to Bucky and Steve.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. "Natasha Romanoff?"

Tony crossed his arms. "Pepper texted and said that she heard from Maria Hill that Romanoff's back in town. She wants Romanoff to be invited."

"Last time I heard about her, Banner had a crush on her," Bucky said.

"That was ages ago, Barnes." Tony chuckled. "Like four years ago."

Steve cocked his head to the side. "I remember her. The first time I tried to recruit Bruce for Shield... he was flirting with her at Darcy's birthday. Red hair, right?"

Bucky nodded. "That's her."

The edge of his lip curled into a smirk. "Interesting."

* * *

Muttontown, New York

"A party? On Saturday? Already?" Natasha asked in disbelief.

"James Rhodes is turning 26 years old and we all know that only happens once so Stark is going all out for it," Maria Hill responded, "To no one's surprise."

Natasha frowned. "I barely know Tony. I can't even remember the last time I spoke to him."

"Well, we're all invited and we don't want to leave you alone. Besides, Stark's parties are insane," Clint said. "You don't have to know anyone there to have a good time."

Natasha sighed. "But still, that would be so weird."

Vision looked up from his phone. "Bruce is gonna be there."

Natasha blinked and glanced at Vision. "Bruce? Really?"

Vision nodded. "He's moving back to New York."

Wanda's eyes widened. "Is he really? I thought he was staying in Philly."

After graduating from Yale University, Bruce had gone down to Pennsylvania to work in the finance sector.

"I guess he missed New York too much to leave. He's coming up this weekend for Rhodey's party and then he's coming back later this month to prepare for the move. He's staying in the Banner estate," Vision responded.

"How come you know this and we don't?" Maria's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Because unlike you guys, Banner actually likes me," Vision joked. After earning a fake punch in the shoulder from Wanda, he added, "Well, besides you, probably." He pointed to Natasha.

Natasha held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, now, Vision. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Clint rubbed at his chin. "I don't know, Tasha. You two seemed to be hitting it off before we graduated from high school."

"I don't think so." Natasha shook her head. She gave her friends a knowing look. "You guys, I've been back in America for like 5 hours and you're already trying to get me back in the dating pool? Fuckers."

Wanda chortled. "Why not?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You guys suck."

"We're just having fun, Nat." Maria poked her shoulder. "Besides, who knows what will happen at the party. You could meet someone cool."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Natasha said. "I don't imagine that the majority of people Stark chooses to surround himself with are amazing people."

Vision looked amused. "Well, we know that Pepper has him under control."

"And good for that, because God knows Peggy couldn't tame Steve. I mean, that's not her job at all and his faults are not hers, but... you know what I mean," Wanda said.

"What happened between those two? They broke up, right?"

Clint let out a haughty laugh. "You missed some drama while you were in Tea and Crumpets Land, Tasha. Some quality drama."

"Well, get on with it." Natasha nudged him. "Explain."

Clint shrugged. "He broke up with her on her birthday. Literally. At the party. That was like, what, six months ago. There were rumors he left with that blonde Lorraine girl that night and he's been dating her since summer."

"But," Maria added, "Pepper said she thinks that he's gonna dump her soon. For someone else."

Natasha's nose wrinkled in disgust. "That's such an asshole move." She had never really spoken to Steve Rogers at all, but he wasn't exactly praised at Andover for being a gentleman. More of a playboy, but not up to Tony's standards.

"He's always been one," Wanda reminded her, "except when it came to his friends. He's an asshole outside of that for God knows why."

"Steve... is an interesting guy," Vision said. "He has his own stuff going on."

Wanda snorted as she turned to look at her boyfriend. "Oh, yeah. We know, Vis. Asshole stuff."

Vision looked like he wanted to say something, but he opted not to. He chose to stay silent.

"Anyway," Clint said, bringing their attention back to him. "Who's down for some food?"

* * *

**This story kind of starts off slow, but I promise you it'll get much darker and dramatic as it goes on. In fact, the next chapter should have enough darkness and drama that you'll get an idea of what this story is like.**

**This will be primarily Romanogers, but there will be a mix of other pairings throughout the chapters. For a heads up, this will not be a fluffy fic, at all, so just keep that in mind.**

**Thank you to everyone who read this chapter. I would really appreciate some feedback in any form! I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

**Thanks, K**


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